According to the Killers’ frontman, Brandon Flowers, the reason there are so few new rock bands hitting those same heights is simply because they’re just not ready.

“It could happen—but there hasn’t been anybody good enough. If there was a band like the Strokes, or Interpol, people would talk,” Flowers told Noisey during a recent interview. “If there were some kids out there right now playing ‘Obstacle 1’ tonight, I would hear about it, you would hear about it. But there isn’t,” he added, gesturing towards Brooklyn while referencing a song from Interpol’s debut album, Turn on the Bright Lights.

“A lot of us in that scene were fully realized on our first record,” he continued. “In the 80s and 90s, people had time to grow, and that is definitely not going to be allowed anymore. Look at us, the Strokes, White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand—even Razorlight, Kaiser Chiefs, all that stuff. Kings of Leon. The songs were strong on those first albums. Usually it takes people three or four records to get there.”

“People are very quick to blame a changing of the times for a lot of things, when it’s really that they’re just not good enough yet,” added drummer Ronnie Vannucci, Jr.

The Killers’ forthcoming fifth studio album, Wonderful Wonderful, is set for release on Sept. 22.